Pain at the Pump: Gasoline Prices by Country

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Bloomberg Visual Data, Bloomberg Rankings and Tom Randall

Brazil

Gasoline prices are going down pretty much everywhere. Except Brazil.

It's been a long time since Brazilians have seen gas prices go up. President Dilma Rousseff started capping fuel prices in 2011 to control inflation. Now, as the rest of the world's car drivers are seeing relief from lower oil prices, Rousseff is unscrewing the cap a bit, allowing wholesale gasoline prices to rise 3 percent.

That's good news for Petrobras, which has been turned into the world's most indebted oil producer because of the policy. The company has booked $44 billion in operating losses from selling fuel at below-market prices during Rousseff's first term.

The average daily income in Brazil is $30. The share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 18 percent.

Canada

Canada was once considered a leader on global warming. Now, it's one of the biggest foot-draggers in global climate talks. The country has a lot to lose: Vast reserves of difficult-to-extract oil will take an environmental toll to produce, or an economic toll to keep in the ground.

Canadians have relatively high incomes and low gasoline prices. As with many other countries, cheap gas goes hand in hand with high consumption. Only Americans use more gasoline per person.

The average daily income is $139. It takes 3.3 percent of a day's wages to afford a gallon of gas.

Italy

Italy is struggling to put its longest economic slump behind it. Its GDP is set to contract 0.3 percent this year, and youth unemployment is at a record 44 percent.

Expensive gasoline and economic uncertainty have been a shock to the home country of Fiat and Ferrari, where car ownership is among the highest in the world. The last six months have brought some relief, with fuel prices declining 13 percent.

Average daily income is $97. It takes 8.3 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Czech Republic

When Europeans buy more cars, Czechs go to work building them. The country manufactures more than a million vehicles a year for companies that include Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

Car purchases are a particularly strong economic barometer in the Czech Republic, where cars make up the largest manufacturing industry. Europe's auto sales increased for the 14th consecutive month in October following a six-year contraction.

Average daily Czech income is $52. It takes 12 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gasoline.

Kuwait

Kuwait has one of the world's biggest gasoline subsidies. Filling up is no trouble for Kuwaitis. The average daily income is $123 -- enough to buy 156 gallons of gas if there were a car big enough to hold it.

Petroleum accounts for almost half of Kuwait's GDP and 95 percent of its exports and its government income. The relatively high price of oil since 2010 has lifted the economy and filled government coffers.

Still, the IMF has warned that if Kuwait continues with its extensive gas subsidies and social programs, the country's oil savings will be exhausted by 2017.

Kuwaitis are the third-biggest consumers of gasoline after the U.S. and Canada.

Lithuania

Lithuania's gasoline price declined 14 percent in the past 6 months -- unlike Scent of Lithuania, the world's first national fragrance. If you wanted to fill up on that, it would set you back about $5,900 a gallon.

Lithuania's growing economy has consistently defied the European slump in recent years, and the country is set to become the 19th to adopt the euro, on Jan. 1. Wages are rising, and so is gas consumption.

The average daily income is $45, of which 13 percent is required to purchase a gallon of gas.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg is among the world's biggest gas guzzlers. It also has the third-highest car ownership, with 739 cars for every 1,000 people, according to data compiled by the World Bank.

The tiny landlocked country enjoys the highest per capita income in the world -- $320 a day -- making moderate gasoline prices extremely affordable for Luxembourgers.

It takes just 1.8 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

France

Peugeot, France's top automaker, was among those hardest hit during Europe's six-year retraction in auto sales. While the retraction has ended, Peugeot is still working to restructure.

The company plans to eliminate 11,200 jobs in France this year, and as many as 2,450 next year. The company brought in Dongfeng Motor Corp. as a partner to expand in a country where burning fuel is still on the rise: China.

The price of gasoline, known in France as essence, declined 17 percent in the last six months, moving down the country's rank seven positions.

Average daily income is $124. It takes 5.2 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Netherlands

The bike-pedaling Dutch have the highest fuel tax in the EU and the most bicycles per capita in the world. Row upon row of them stand parked at train stations, museums and national parks. A vast infrastructure of bike lanes, tunnels and traffic signals makes cycling easy to adopt.

The electricity sector is a different story. The Netherlands is one of the most fossil fuel-intensive economies of the International Energy Agency's 29 members.

Average daily income is $143. It takes 5.6 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gasoline.

Slovakia

Slovakia's leaders are torn over Western sanctions on Russia. Russia is Slovakia's biggest non-EU export destination and supplies almost all Slovak oil and gasoline. Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned the sanctions will hurt his country's economic growth.

Slovakia's gasoline prices declined 11 percent in the past six months, compared with ranking's average of 7.2 percent. The average daily income is $51, of which 13 percent is needed to buy a gallon of gas.

Ireland

Ireland has a reputation for beer-drinking. The Irish drink 277 pints a year per person, second only to the Czech Republic. They guzzle a lot of gasoline too.

Ireland is a road-dependent economy with public transportation that's less extensive than in many neighbors in Western Europe.

The average daily income is $140. It takes 5 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Argentina

Prices at the fuel pump have been no less punishing. The country had the world's fastest-rising gasoline prices after Egypt. The average daily income in Argentina is $35, 17 percent of which is needed to buy a gallon of gas.

Gasoline isn't the only way to fill up in Argentina. The country is home to about 13 percent of the world's natural-gas vehicles, according to NGVA Europe, a trade group for natural gas vehicles. It's also the fifth-biggest producer of biofuels in the world.

Norway

Norway retains the title for world's most expensive gas. The Scandinavian country doesn't subsidize fuel at the pump, using its oil profits instead for national services, such as free college education and savings for infrastructure improvements.

Norway's high gasoline prices are an electric carmaker's dream. The country has the biggest share of electric vehicles in the world, making up almost 15 percent of new cars sold this year.

With the world's second-highest incomes, Norwegians absorb the high price of gas -- or an electric-car alternative -- with relative ease. The average daily income is $272. It takes 3.4 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Nigeria

Nigeria, fighting an Islamic insurgency, is among the world's biggest losers from declining oil prices. The country relies on oil for 75 percent of government revenue.

Nigeria's spending on fuel subsidies burns through the proceeds from the nation's oil bounty, making it difficult to invest in much-needed infrastructure and education.

An attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan to scrap the subsidies in January 2012 triggered nationwide strikes. He quickly backtracked. The country budgeted $6 billion this year to provide cheap gas.

Average daily income is $9.36. It takes 24 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Israel

The price of gasoline has been a central complaint behind Israeli cost-of-living demonstrations in recent years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intervened on numerous occasions to prevent prices from rising as quickly as the global price of oil.

Israel caps the price of 95-octane gas while allowing other forms of the fuel to fluctuate. Average daily income is $104, of which 7.5 percent is required to buy a gallon of gas.

Australia

Australia was one of the first nations to institute a wide-ranging tax on carbon dioxide pollution. Now, under Prime Minister Tony Abbott, it's become the first to revoke one.

The carbon tax shifted the price of energy so much that wind is now cheaper than coal or natural gas for producing electricity. The tax never applied to driving, which means Australians continued to enjoy relatively pain-free fill-ups at the bowser (the Aussie word for fuel pump).

The average daily income in Australia is $172, only 3 percent of which is needed to buy a gallon of gas. The country remains one of the biggest per-capita greenhouse-gas polluters in the world.

Iran

Years of economic sanctions have starved Iran of oil revenue. This year's drop in oil prices has made problems worse for the world's fourth-biggest oil producer. The price of oil would need to increase by about 80 percent for the country to balance its budget.

Finances got so bad that in 2010 Iran began a five-year plan to curb its popular energy subsidies -- at the time the biggest in the world. To ease the pain of the subsidy cuts, an $18 a month offset was given to everyone to help pay the bills. Inflation ensued.

Perhaps the only thing more difficult to get rid of than a fuel subsidy is a free lunch. When President Hassan Rouhani asked Iranians to voluntarily give up their monthly stipend, only about 2.4 million people of the nation's 77 million people complied.

Singapore

Fuel prices in Singapore fell 1.5 percent in the last six months. But the cost of fuel matters very little to Singaporeans -- it's the cost of the car that matters.

In Singapore, a Honda Accord will set you back $177,000, according to SGCarMart.com. That's a price to make you think twice, in a country where the average daily income is $154.

Most of that cost is for the state-auctioned permit, which gives a driver the right to own a car for 10 years. The permits are used to limit congestion and pollution.

Still, the country makes oil its business, with some of the largest refineries in the world. Singapore imports oil and ships gasoline back to oil-producing countries in the Middle East.

Thailand

Thailand has cheap gas relative to most nations, but it's a steep price for many Thais. The country is ranked sixth in the portion of an average day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gasoline.

Pain at the pump in Thailand helped encourage wide adoption of three-wheeled auto rickshaws, known as tuk-tuks, in the country's biggest tourist cities. The open-air vehicles use less gas but are less safe than cars and are big polluters.

Average daily income is $15. It takes 28 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Venezuela

Life, liberty and the pursuit of mileage. Countries have different ideas of which rights are inalienable. In Western Europe, universal health care is the norm. In oil-rich Norway, college is free. Venezuela stands alone in considering dirt-cheap gasoline a birthright. At 4 cents a gallon, it's practically free.

Venezuela is a poor country that burns through gas like a rich one. Fuel-efficient cars don't fly off the lots if it costs less to fill a tank than to buy a cup of coffee.

Former President Hugo Chavez at times called for the country to reduce consumption, but with fuel so cheap there was little incentive. The last time Venezuela tried to cut subsidies, in 1989, it was torn by riots that killed hundreds of people.

The cost of filling up the 39-gallon tank of a Chevrolet Suburban in Venezuela is $1.56, compared with $114 in the U.S. and $361 in Norway.

Slovenia

Slovenia is a green country. Literally. Protected parks make up 36 percent of the nation's land, and more than half of the country is covered in forest.

Slovenes consume slightly more gasoline than the world average while earning below-average wages. The result is that they spend a high proportion of their annual incomes fueling up.

Average daily income is $66. It takes 10 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

China

With a population of 1.36 billion, China is the world's second-biggest oil consumer. As its middle class expands, the number of vehicles in China will triple to 260 million by 2020, matching current U.S. levels, according to China's State Information Center.

China regulates the price of retail gasoline and diesel fuel to curb inflation. With low average wages, the country ranks among the worst for gas affordability, despite a gas price that's lower than the global average.

The average daily income in China is $21, and it takes almost a quarter of a day's wages to afford a gallon of gas. The average person's consumption isn't formidable; the entire country's is.

Chile

Pity the peso. Slowing economic growth and falling interest rates in Chile have contributed to the second-worst performing currency in emerging markets over the last year. Gasoline priced in Chilean pesos rose 6.4 percent in the last six months.

It's not unusual for Chile's gas prices to buck the global trend. The country has price-adjustment tools including a self-adjusting tax that flattens price spikes. When costs jump too high, the tax declines; when prices fall, the tax rises.

Chile depends on petroleum imports to fuel its economy. The country's wells are running dry and people are driving more, so that reliance keeps increasing. The average daily income is $41. It takes 15 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Belgium

Belgium has seen one of the biggest price drops in the last six months: 18 percent.

The country still has some of the most expensive gasoline in the world, but high incomes and low consumption make filling up a minor line item in the family budget.

Belgium has negligible oil and gas of its own and relies on imported energy. The average daily income is $129. The share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 5.5 percent.

Germany

Since Germany's reunification in 1990, the country has committed 34 billion euros to transportation infrastructure in the East. The region now boasts the finest autobahns in the nation. Pristine, pothole-free roads mean speedsters can push their BMWs to more than 250 kilometers an hour (155 miles per hour).

The average cost of gasoline in Europe is more than double the price in the U.S. A German driver filling the 14.5-gallon (55-liter) tank of Europe's most popular car, Volkswagen's Golf hatchback, pays $101, compared with $42 for the same fill-up in the U.S.

The price of filling up in Germany fell 18 percent in the last six months, lowering the country seven positions on the global price ranking. The average daily income is $129.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is part of China but has its own constitution, its own political structure and its own price of gasoline. On average, Hong Kong residents pay almost 75 percent more for a gallon of gas than their neighbors in China, where the government caps the price.

Hong Kong and China are both among the world's lightest consumers of gas per capita. Hong Kong drivers, with their higher urban incomes, feel less pain at the pump. In fact, Hong Kongers spend a smaller proportion of their paychecks filling up than any other people except Venezuelans.

The average daily income is $110. It takes 7.4 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Poland

Poland has a relatively low gasoline tax for Europe. That hasn't stopped fuel tax fraud, which cost the country 3 billion zloty ($943 million) in 2012, according to the Polish Organization of Oil Industry and Trade.

Poland relies on Russia for 90 percent of its oil imports and more than 80 percent of its natural gas. It's trying to shift to cleaner energy sources and has a target of getting 15.5 percent of energy from renewables by 2020. As of 2012, coal still accounted for 55 percent of the energy supply, the highest in Europe.

Average daily income is $39. It takes 14 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Spain

Spain's economic doldrums may finally be coming to an end. Growth outshined the euro region for the last six months and is expected to accelerate next year. Falling gasoline prices have provided an extra boost.

The plunging price of oil can be a drag for oil-producing countries; Spain isn't one. It imports nearly all of its oil, gasoline and natural gas. Government regulation limits fuel imports from any one country in order to ensure a diverse supply.

Average daily income is $83. It takes 7.7 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Indonesia

While Indonesia's 1990s oil boom has faded, its subsidies have not. About 15 percent of this year's budget goes to subsidizing energy.

The subsidy costs have slowed development, according to the IEA. The government is trying to change that. A year ago, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, then the president, stared down demonstrators and ordered the first cuts to the subsidies. More cuts took effect this month.

Subsidies are a tough habit to kick. The change has boosted inflation and driven up the cost of living nationwide, weighing especially heavily on the nation's 100 million people who live on less than $2 a day.

Most Indonesians buy a subsidized grade of gasoline that has a lower octane than what is available in most countries and what is used for the Bloomberg ranking. The subsidized cost: 8,500 rupiah per liter ($2.65 a gallon).

Denmark

There's relatively little rotten in the state of Denmark. It has the least income inequality, the happiest people and the least corruption in the world, according to studies from the past few years.

Copenhagen, the capital, is also perhaps the most bike-friendly city in the world. More than 50 percent of Copenhageners commute to work or school by bicycle. The world's busiest bike lane -- Dronning Louises Bro -- hosts 36,000 bicyclists every day.

As if the Danes didn't have it good enough already, gasoline prices fell 16 percent in the last six months. Average daily income is $170. It takes 4.5 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Philippines

The Philippines is shifting to a manufacturing and services economy from one based primarily on agriculture. The economy grew a mighty 7.2 percent last year. Energy demand is high. Wages aren't.

Filipinos' energy poverty is partly offset by an unconventional energy resource. The country is the world's second-biggest producer of geothermal power after the U.S., according to the International Geothermal Association. The nation of 95 million people and 7,100 islands uses this natural source for about 17 percent of its energy needs.

The Philippines consumes a small fraction of the gasoline used by most other countries in the ranking. Average daily income is $7.98. It takes 55 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Finland

Finns are some of the world's fastest drivers. Maybe it's the caffeine, which Finns consume at three times the rate of Americans.

The Finnish record on the racetrack is no less excessive. Finns have won the World Rally championships more than any other country and have won more Formula One championships proportional to their population than any other nationality.

Finns have the 11th highest gasoline prices in the 61-nation ranking, though it's little bother in a nation where the average daily income is $138. It takes 5.2 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Saudi Arabia

The Saudis sit atop two enormously valuable bodies of liquid: oil and water. Both are being pumped to the surface at unsustainable rates.

Beneath Saudi sands sits a reservoir of freshwater buried thousands of years ago during the last Ice Age. NASA estimates the precious water source will be emptied in 50 years. Like Saudi oil, the water isn't replenishable.

Saudi Arabia is OPEC's biggest oil producer and heavily subsidizes its unchanging price of gasoline. Saudis rank among the greatest gas guzzlers in the world but devote among the smallest shares of their incomes to buy it.

Average daily income is $66. It takes less than one percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Turkey

Turkey is coal country. It sits above an estimated 14 billion tons of coal reserves, among the world's top ten deposits. At a time when most countries are reducing their dependence on the polluting fuel, the Energy Ministry plans to boost power from local coal to about 20 percent by 2020 from 14 percent now.

In recent years Turkey has increased its revenue base through consumption taxes, such as the fuel tax, which are relatively easy to enforce. The country's gasoline tax is one of the highest in the world.

Average daily income is $29 and it takes 29 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

United States

Holiday shoppers are starting the season with extra money in their wallets. The cheapest gasoline prices since 2010 amount to about $500 in annual savings for the average gas-guzzling American.

Still think filling up is expensive? Imagine shelling out $9.26 a gallon, the price in Norway. Indians and Pakistanis put in a full day's work to afford a single gallon. Only five countries have less pain at the pump than the U.S., and four of them are OPEC members.

Of course, not all gas tanks are created equal. Even at low prices, America's unparalleled thirst for gas takes a toll on budgets. The average daily income is $150, but only 11 countries devote more of their paychecks to gas.

Amid an unprecedented North American oil boom, gasoline prices fell worldwide by an average 7.2 percent in the last six months. Click ahead to see how 60 other countries were affected.

Sweden

Energy prices in Sweden are subject to taxes on tailpipe pollution, including carbon dioxide, the most consequential greenhouse gas. Filling stations there are required to sell alternative fuels, such as ethanol, to help reduce the country's dependence on oil.

Undeterred by one of the highest tax rates in Europe, Swedes remain some of the biggest consumers of gasoline per capita.

Average daily income is $158. It takes 4.3 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Latvia

Latvia, which regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, still depends on Russia for almost all its energy needs. That hasn't stopped the country from being one of the loudest proponents of sanctions against Russia.

About a quarter of Latvia's population considers itself Russian, and the country has one of the biggest ethnic divides in the Baltics. Latvia was a key terminal for Russia's oil exports until the opening of Russia's port at Primorsk and the Baltic Pipeline System. Those projects drastically diminished Latvia's role.

The price of gasoline fell 20 percent in the past six months -- the third-biggest drop in the ranking. The average daily income is $44, of which 13 percent is needed to buy a gallon of gas.

Croatia

Croatia, which joined the EU last year, needs investment to revive growth after half a decade of recession.

The country of 4.2 million is seeking to attract money for exploration of oil and natural gas supplies in the Adriatic Sea. A year ago, Croatia joined Hungary and Ukraine to create a natural gas corridor to curb Europe's reliance on Russian fuel.

Gasoline prices in Croatia tumbled 16 percent in the last six months, providing relief at the pump in a nation where the average daily income is about $37. It takes 17 percent of a Croat's daily wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Malta

Adrift between Italy and Libya, the tiny island nation of Malta has relied on imports for virtually all of its energy. Now it's seeking to open its waters to oil exploration.

Malta weathered the European debt crisis better than its southern European neighbors. It has relatively low unemployment, and growth has recovered since the recession in 2009.

Average daily income is $67. It takes 10 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gasoline.

Japan

Japan's long-standing national gasoline tax helped the country's carmakers take an early lead in developing fuel-efficient vehicles. Still, the Japanese consume about a third more gas per capita than the ranking's average.

The country is home to half of the world's fast-charging stations for electric cars, and there's a push to expand that lead. Last year Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi agreed to share costs for 12,000 new charging stations.

Average daily income is $103. It takes 5.6 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Switzerland

With the third-highest incomes in the ranking, the Swiss can afford to splurge a little on gasoline. The country ranks 11th in gasoline consumed per person.

Despite that indulgence, the Swiss maintain some green credentials. Investments in hydroelectric, nuclear and wind power leave them with a carbon dioxide emission rate that's less than half the average of OECD nations.

Average daily income is $231. It takes 3.1 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

New Zealand

Kiwis consume a lot of gasoline -- the seventh most per capita in the ranking. The country also has the world's fourth-highest rate of car ownership, with 712 cars for every 1,000 people, according to the World Bank.

The average daily income is $121. It takes 5.7 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Russia

Russia, one of the world's biggest oil producers, enjoys some of the cheapest gasoline prices on the global market. Still, with the country under pressure from U.S. and EU sanctions, ruble-denominated gas prices have soared.

Russia has spent more than $70 billion since the start of the Ukraine conflict to support its collapsing currency. Despite those efforts, the ruble has fallen more than any other major denomination. The tumbling price of oil, Russia's biggest export, hasn't helped.

Average daily income is $39. It takes 8.3 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Bulgaria

Ask Bulgarians if gasoline is expensive, and they'll shake their head back and forth. Because in Bulgaria, shaking your head means yes (and nodding means no).

With an average daily income of just $21 a day and middling gas prices, it's a burden for Bulgarians to fill up. It takes 27 percent of a Bulgarian's daily wages to buy a gallon of gas -- the seventh-most-acute pain at the pump in the ranking.

Pakistan

A trip to the pump is painful in Pakistan, where workers must put in more than a full day's work, on average, to afford a gallon of gasoline.

Most Pakistanis opt for cheaper compressed natural gas (CNG), which fuels about 80 percent of the nation's auto fleet. Pakistan has about 2.8 million CNG vehicles on the road, the most of any country, according to NGVA Europe, a trade group for natural gas vehicle companies.

Pakistan is the poorest country in the gas-price index, with an average daily income of $3.55.

Romania

With economic growth exceeding estimates and a target to adopt the euro in 2019, Romanians voted to elect their first ethnic minority as president.

Klaus Iohannis, an ethnic German, campaigned on fighting corruption, which has helped keep Romania the second-poorest country in Europe.

Its gas consumption is a quarter of the ranking's average. The price of gasoline in Romania fell 17 percent in the last six months. The average daily income is $28, and 22 percent of that is needed to buy a gallon of gas.

Portugal

The montado landscape of Portugal produces more than half of the world's cork. Careful management of cork oak trees, whose bark is harvested every nine years, allows them to survive for hundreds of years.

The gasoline tax is one of several levies expanded in Portugal since 2001 to protect the environment (and by extension, the cork). Taxes on vehicles take into account carbon dioxide emissions and engine cylinder capacity and have led to a more efficient fleet on the road.

Taxes are lower in neighboring Spain, leading some Portuguese drivers to cross the border to fill up. Average daily income is $60. It takes 12 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Estonia

Estonians use less gasoline than the global average, but with their relatively low incomes, the fuel bill still takes a toll on family budgets.

Estonians do save a bit of gas money on one occasion: voting day. The tech-loving nation was the first in the world to adopt Internet voting.

The cost of gas fell 15 percent in the last six months, moving Estonia's price rank down four positions from six months ago. The average daily income is $54. It takes 11 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Mexico

Mexican subsidies and foreign exchange rates once tempted U.S. drivers to cross the border to fill up. Those days are gone.

Mexico, the world's seventh-biggest oil producer, has been gradually chipping away at its fuel subsidies. Mexico's pump price rose 4.5 percent in the last six months, even as U.S. prices tumbled 21 percent.

Mexico recently amended its constitution to open up oil and gasoline fields to foreign and private investment for the first time in 76 years. The tax code was also overhauled to begin to wean the country off revenue from Pemex, the state-owned oil producer.

Of all OECD countries, only the U.S. charges less gas tax than Mexico. The average daily income is $30. It takes 13 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Egypt

In the last six months, Egypt has seen the sharpest rise in gasoline prices in the ranking: 36 percent. In some ways, that's a good thing.

The Arab world's most populous nation is still seeking to restore stability after the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013. The new president, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, has won praise from business leaders and economists by cutting gasoline subsidies that were toxic to the nation's finances.

There's still a long way to go. Egypt has the world's fourth-cheapest gasoline and unusually high gasoline consumption considering its average daily wage of $9.14, of which 15 percent is needed to buy a gallon of gas.

United Arab Emirates

Since the discovery of oil in the 1960s, the U.A.E. has evolved from a poor region of principalities to a wealthy modern state with a high standard of living.

Economic diversification efforts in recent years have reduced the proportion of the economy dependent on oil and gas to 25 percent. The U.A.E. is the world's eighth-biggest oil producer, and as of 2010 it was subsidizing about 68 percent of its gas price.

Despite its oil wealth, the U.A.E. has long had to import its gasoline because it lacks refining capacity. The largest-ever expansion of Middle East oil refining is changing that.

Average daily income is $123. It takes 1.5 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

South Africa

South Africans face a lot of pain at the pump, which is made worse by the amount of gas they consume. They spend more of their incomes filling up than anybody else.

Prices in South Africa are set monthly by the Central Energy Fund, a state-owned entity set up in 1997. Before a recent price cut, high gas prices helped push inflation to the upper bounds of the central bank's maximum target range of six percent.

The average daily income is $17. South Africans, on average, spend about 5.2 percent of their incomes on filling up.

India

India was edged out by Pakistan for having the least affordable gasoline. In both of these countries, low wages and limited infrastructure result in widespread energy poverty. Quality of life is hampered by limited access to electricity and clean fuels.

The average Indian needs to work a full day to afford a gallon of gasoline. Because of the high toll, the country of 1.2 billion people has the lowest per capita consumption.

United Kingdom

The amount of income spent fueling up declined 20 percent in six months in the U.K. The country still pays more than many of its neighbors, having the eighth highest gas price in the ranking.

The U.K. may soon have a new tool in fighting fuel prices: new oil supplies. Shale rock beneath some of southern England's wealthiest counties may contain billions of barrels of oil, according to a government report this year.

The U.K. has opened up regions for shale licensing and offered breaks to drillers to spur development. Shale drilling for gas and oil faces opposition over water contamination and greenhouse gas emissions.

The average income is $121. It takes 6.1 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas.

Malaysia

Malaysia's extensive fuel subsidies give it one of the lowest gasoline prices.

Even though gas remains cheap, the subsidy cuts are sending inflation ripples through the economy. Consumer prices are forecast to climb 4 percent to 5 percent next year, the fastest since 2008.

The average daily income is $30, 8.2 percent of which is needed to buy a gallon of gas.

Austria

Austrians buy less gasoline and pay less for it than the EU average. With prices falling 10 percent in six months, they feel even less pain at the pump than usual.

The average daily income in is $140. The share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 4.6 percent.

Colombia

Falling oil prices are bad news for Colombia, which relies on crude for half of its exports.

The Colombian peso has depreciated 8.2 percent against the dollar over the last three months -- the biggest drop of 24 emerging-market currencies after the Russian ruble.

With its weakening currency, relative gas prices rose 5.3 percent. Also on the rise: smuggling gasoline across the border with Venezuela, where it's practically given away.

The average daily income is $23. The share of a day's wages needed to buy a gallon of gas is 19 percent.

Greece

Greece has ended its worst recession in more than a half-century -- one that required two bailouts and almost pushed the country out of the euro zone.

Greece also finally felt some relief at the fuel pump, where prices declined 20 percent in the last six months. The country moved down eight positions in the ranking.

Average daily income is $61. It takes 12 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gasoline.

Greeks' pain at the pump is worsened by the amount they consume. Just four countries devote more of their paychecks to filling up their cars.

Hungary

Production of Hungary's oil and natural gas resources has peaked and is expected to continue to decline, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More than 80 percent of the country's oil is now imported from Russia.

Hungary's economic expansion continues to show resilience despite a slowdown in auto production, a core industry for the country, responsible for more than a fifth of its exports.

The price of gasoline fell 18 percent in the last six months. Average daily income is $36, 16 percent of which is required to buy a gallon of gas.

South Korea

Despite being one of the world's smaller nations -- roughly the size of the U.S. state of Indiana -- South Korea ranks high in cars.

Hyundai and Kia are fifth in the world by combined global sales -- bigger than Ford Motor Co. They are particularly popular among younger drivers.

Average daily income in South Korea is $79, 8.4 percent of which is needed to buy a gallon of gasoline.

Cyprus

With above-average gasoline prices, low incomes and lots of driving, Cypriots devote the second-greatest share of their annual incomes to fueling up.

Island nations like Cyprus generally pay more to have fuel delivered. Drivers felt some relief as gasoline prices declined 16 percent in the last six months. Still, it takes 9.6 percent of a day's wages to buy a gallon of gas. Average daily income is $66.

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